Series Winter Test spotlight - Scott Atherton

ATHERTON: 2010 SEASON WILL DELIVER!
Scott Atherton: Never more confident in the outlook for the 2010 American
Le Mans Series presented by Tequila PatrÃ³n. American Le Mans Series
President and CEO Scott Atherton wishes he had more...

ATHERTON: 2010 SEASON WILL DELIVER!

Scott Atherton: Never more confident in the outlook for the 2010 American
Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón. American Le Mans Series
President and CEO Scott Atherton wishes he had more fingers.

As he begins to count all the positive and progressive things that have
happened during the offseason, he runs out of digits quickly. The toes
may be next. As the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón
rolls into its 12th season March 20 with the 58th running of the Mobil 1
Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida in a few weeks,
Atherton's enthusiasm is evident.

"I know that according to the pundits, this season is not supposed
to give much indication that things are turning around yet,"
Atherton said during Media Day at the Series' annual Winter Test at
Sebring International Raceway, "but sometimes the pundits are wrong
- at least when it comes to the American Le Mans Series."

Atherton began his address to the media at the annual Sebring Winter Test
with an emphasis on the record number cars, 28, attending the test. Later
in the evening, he helped introduce Tequila Patrón as the presenting
sponsor of the world's leading sports car racing championship.

"This bodes well for the 12 Hours," said Atherton, who
predicted a field of 35-plus cars for the season opener. Last
year's field was 26.

The addition of the Le Mans Prototype Challenge class is one of many new
features in the 2010 championship.

NEW CLASS STRUCTURE

One factor in the Series' rising popularity and car counts was its
ability to incorporate the desires of fans and competitors in combining
the prototype and GT classes while at the same time creating two
"Challenge" classes in each group to develop the talented
pool of new, up-and-coming drivers and teams. The GT Challenge class was
actually instituted mid-season last year at Miller Motorsports Park in
Utah. Cars competing in that class, which is currently comprised of
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars but will eventually involve other marquees and
manufacturers, will run the full race schedule in 2010. The LMP
Challenge class will be comprised of at least a half dozen ORECA-Courage
FLM09 prototypes. These cars debuted last year as support events for the
Le Mans Series in Europe and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

CONTENT IS KING

Among the new full-season entries for 2010 is the two-car Ferrari F430 GT
team of Scott Sharp's Extreme Speed Motorsports. Sharp has
persuaded long-time Flying Lizard Motorsports driver Johannes van
Overbeek to be his seatmate, while Ed Brown and Guy Cosmo fill car number
two.

Veteran Paul Gentilozzi launches Jaugar's first full-time sports
car effort in more than 15 years with a Jaguar XKRS for his JaguarRSR
team. He and Marc Goossens will drive the full season with appearances by
the likes of Scott Pruett, Tomy Drissi and Ryan Dalziel throughout the
year.

Team Falken Tire with its Porsche 911 GT3 RSR is one of several new
full-seasons additions to the 2010 grid. Black Swan Racing returns under
the direction of environmental developer Tim Pappas, who will campaign a
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR with former Porsche Supercup champion and past Le
Mans 24 Hours LMP2 winner Jeroen Bleekemolen of Monaco. The Black Swan
entry is one of four Porsches expected to grace the Sebring GT2 grid.
Also among them is Team Falken Tire's entry, which will compete for
the full season with Wolf Henzler and Bryan Sellers driving.

In LMP, Lord Drayson returns for a full-season effort with teammate Jonny
Cocker in a new Lola-Judd coupe. The Drayson-Cocker partnership competed
in the full 2008 season and entered its new closed-cockpit prototype in
the final two rounds of 2009. Five-time Le Mans champion and former Audi
factory pilot Emanuele Pirro will join them for the endurance races at
Sebring, Monterey and Petit Le Mans as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans to
which the team has been invited. Drayson is Great Britain's
Minister of Science and Innovation and a worldwide voice on environmental
and sustainable energy issues.

Atherton also pointed out that several international heavyweights will
appear periodically on the American Le Mans Series grid this year,
beginning with Sebring.

Peugeot, winner last year at both the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Petit Le
Mans, announced Monday a two-car factory effort for the season opener.
Meanwhile Aston Martin Racing, with last year's LMP2 champion
Adrian Fernandez, will race early in the season at both Sebring and Long
Beach as it prepares to tackle the formidable Peugeots and Audis at Le
Mans in June. Both, as well as other international teams, could return
for Road Atlanta's Petit Le Mans, one of the three events in the
ACO's inaugural Intercontinental Cup comprised of one marquee
endurance race in Europe, North America and Asia.

The enthusiasm for 2010 does not rest only in new teams, classes and
drivers, however.

Defending LMP1 champion Patrón Highcroft Racing will be among the
favorites in the newly combined LMP class. David Brabham returns for
Highcroft with new teammates Simon Pagenaud, who drove with Gil de Ferran
last year, and Marino Franchitti. Dyson Racing, equipped with its
Mazda-powered Lola coupe along with the Porsche RS Spyder of Team
Cytosport - making its first full-season run - will also battle among the
prototypes. Stellar independents Intersport Racing with Jon and Clint
Field and Autocon Motorsports - bound for Le Mans in June - will also
give chase.

Meanwhile, the GT class is expected to see a season-long battle for the
ages with three Porsche teams headed by defending champion Flying Lizard
Motorsports, a two-car effort from BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team, the
formidable Risi Ferrari team, Robertson Racing and Corvette Racing -the
most successful team in American Le Mans Series history - vying for
podiums all season long in addition to the aforementioned Extreme Speed
Ferraris and JaguarRSR.

"This is the strongest GT class we have ever had," said
Atherton.

GROWTH IN CORPORATE PARTNERS

Among the most rewarding developments for Atherton and the Series has
been the influx of new corporate partners. The Series announced Tequila
Patrón of the Patrón Spirits Company as its presenting sponsor at a
lavish reception Monday night, while earlier in the day declaring
Yancey's Fancy Cheese as its official cheese. Both partners plan
aggressive in-market activation around all events in 2010. Atherton said
several others would likely be announced within the next several weeks.

"There is nothing that sustains and builds a motorsports series
better than great content and great corporate partners," said
Atherton. "We have taken a significant step forward in both those
areas and I am confident that 2010 is going to be a very good year for
the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patro?n."

GLOBAL LEADER GREEN RACING

Another area that has made the American Le Mans Series distinct is its
position as the Global Leader in Green Racing. The Series introduced its
first alternative fuel in 2006 - coincidentally at Sebring - with the
diesel-powered Audi R10 TDI and has added a new alternative energy or
powertrains every year since. In 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy and
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency along with SAE International
declared the American Le Mans Series the only motorsports series to meet
its green racing protocols. The government agencies then created an
end-of-season Green Challenge™ award to go to manufacturers whose
efforts exhibited the most fuel efficiency, least environment impact and
best overall performance for the year among prototypes and GT cars.

Last year, Michelin created an ancillary award, the MICHELIN® GREEN X®
Challenge given to teams each race with a season-ending award to the top
prototype and GT team. Acura and Porsche won the DOE-EPA Green
Challenge manufacturer award while Lowe's Fernandez Racing
and Flying Lizard Motorsports took home the respective MICHELIN® GREEN X®
Challenge awards.

"Auto manufacturers and our government leaders confirm that racing
series which provide opportunities to showcase and develop new consumer
technologies - with an emphasis on the environment - are the
future," said Atherton. "We have never been more confident
in our position and look forward to expanding our green racing
initiatives to better serve the teams and manufacturers competing with
us. We are ideally positioned to take advantage of and benefit from the
current and future focus of manufacturers' innovations in
sustainable energies."

GROWING TELEVISION PRODUCT AND FAN BASE

The 2010 season is not only about increased car counts, new partners and
solidifying its role as the Global Leader in Green Racing. The Series
averaged nearly 80,000 fans per race event last year while taking its
television product to more than 600 million homes worldwide. This
season, it plans to include live streaming of all SPEED qualifying and
introduced an innovative programming concept for its two CBS telecasts of
races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and Mid-Ohio.

Intersport, a seven-time Emmy award-winning production company best known
recently for the film "Truth in 24" that it co-produced with
NFL Films, will produce two 90-minute shows for each of the CBS races,
focusing on the stories behind and within the race as well as the battles
that eventually produce the race champions.

"You will see the American Le Mans Series as you have not seen it
before," predicted Atherton. "And it will be good …
very good."

The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón will open its
12th season with America's greatest sports car race, the 58th Mobil
1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida from March
17-20. The green flag will fall at 10:35 a.m. on Saturday, March 20 with
live coverage on SPEED. Visit the American Le Mans Series' schedule page
for ticket and accommodation information.